REACH OUT AND TOUCH SOMEONE !
When enemy forces have been detected and identified, then one can attack. The era of naval warships engaging one another with gunfire is over. The maximum range of the largest naval cannons is around 50 kilometres. That's roughly the shortest range of the smallest surface to surface missiles. The principal weapon used to engage the enemy is now the surface to surface missile. Be always aware of the range of your missiles. It's obviously not possible to engage a fleet a 1000km away with a missile that has a range only of 500km.
Surface strike elements
Warships can use their missiles to attack other warships, provided they know where they are. Naval combat very rarely comes down to gun-fire ranges and is normally conducted at distances of over a hundred kilometres. The primary anti-shipping weapon of surface forces is the radar guided missile, either as small as Harpoon-style weapons, or as large as the super-heavy P-700 Granit missile.
Aerial strike elements
Carrier based fixed wing aviation
The principal strike arm of a modern navy is its carrier based aviation. The advantage of fixed wing aircraft is obvious: their maximum engagement range is the range of their weapons system plus the range of their aircraft. They are also much faster than warships and are more expendable, which is useful in reconnaissance. However, although they have the longest theoretical "reach", they are limited by weight.
Example: Blackburn Buccaneer with Sea Eagle
A-6 Intruder with Harpoon
The principal strike arm of a modern navy is its carrier based aviation. The advantage of fixed wing aircraft is obvious: their maximum engagement range is the range of their weapons system plus the range of their aircraft. They are also much faster than warships and are more expendable, which is useful in reconnaissance. However, although they have the longest theoretical "reach", they are limited by weight.
Example: Blackburn Buccaneer with Sea Eagle
A-6 Intruder with Harpoon
Land based fixed wing aviation
Land based attack aircraft can be used both for reconnaissance and attack. Although Western forces don't possess specialised anti-shipping aircraft (any more), this was always more of a Russian doctrine. Although larger landbased aircraft can carry larger missiles, they're obviously limited in that they might be very far away from the battle area. They're also limited by weight, although the weight categories are higher.
Example: Tu-22M3 with Klub or Kh-22 missiles.
Land based attack aircraft can be used both for reconnaissance and attack. Although Western forces don't possess specialised anti-shipping aircraft (any more), this was always more of a Russian doctrine. Although larger landbased aircraft can carry larger missiles, they're obviously limited in that they might be very far away from the battle area. They're also limited by weight, although the weight categories are higher.
Example: Tu-22M3 with Klub or Kh-22 missiles.